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The benchmark indices erased their day's losses and settled over 1.5 per cent higher after the finance ministry said that the autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was "essential", in an attempt to dampen a spat between the government and the central bank.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 34,442, up 551 points (1.6 per cent), while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,387, up 188 points(1.9 per cent).

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT index settled 4.2 per cent higher led by gains in Tech Mahindra and Infosys. The Nifty Financial Services index, too, rose 2.3 per cent led by Indiabulls Housing Finance and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

The rupee, too, has partially recovered from its day's low and is back in the 73 per dollar-levels. The Indian currency has fell to 74.14 against US dollar in intra-day trade, down its previous close of 73.67 against the greenback.

Govt says RBI autonomy 'essential'

Finance ministry said on Wednesday the autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was "essential", in an attempt to dampen a spat between the government and the central bank.

"The autonomy of the central bank ... is an essential and accepted governance requirement," the ministry said in a statement. "Governments in India have nurtured and respected this."

The comments came after reports suggested that the RBI governor Urjit Patel was on the verge of resigning over the breakdown in relations with the government.

Global Markets

Asian stocks clawed up from 20-month lows on Wednesday amid pledges by China to support its markets, but investor confidence was brittle after equity markets bled trillions of dollars in a grim October.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1 percent, drawing support from gains on Wall Street overnight. Yet it was on track to fall around 11 percent this month, which would be its worst monthly performance since September 2011.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1 per cent on Wednesday and the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.2 per cent as weaker-than-expected factory activity data reinforced views that Beijing will roll out more support measures for the economy.

Australian stocks ended 0.4 per cent higher, South Korea's KOSPI added 0.7 per cent. In Japan, the Nikkei advanced 2.2 per cent, reassured by the Bank of Japan's signal that it will keep its ultra-easy policy for some time to come.

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The company had posted a net profit of Rs 3.62 billion in the July-September quarter a-year-ago, Dabur India said in a BSE filing. READ MORE

Financial stocks in focus; PNB Housing, DHFL, HDFC up over 5%
Shares of financial stocks including banks, housing finance and non-banking finance companies were in focus, rallying up to 12% on the bourses in intra-day trade erasing their entire early morning losses. Nifty Financial Services and Nifty PSU Bank indices were up 2% each as compared to 1.4% rise in the Nifty 50 index. Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank were up 1% each on the NSE. READ MORE

Oil rises 1 per cent ahead of Iran sanctions
Oil prices climbed for the first time in three days on Wednesday, rising around 1 per cent ahead of the start of U.S. sanctions against Iran next week and as stock markets clawed back some of the losses they racked up this month.
Brent crude futures had gained 83 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $76.74 a barrel. They fell 1.8 per cent on Tuesday, at one point touching their lowest since Aug. 24 at $75.09 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures advanced 55 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $66.73 a barrel on Wednesday. They dropped 1.3 per cent the day before, after hitting their lowest since Aug. 17 at $65.33 a barrel.

RBI Governor Urjit Patel may not resign, calls board meeting on Nov 19
RBI Governor Urjit Patel may not resign as he has called a board meeting on November 19 to discuss the pending issues, which created a rift between the government and the central bank, in the previous meeting held last week.
Meanwhile, the finance ministry said on Wednesday that it respects the central bank's autonomy. READ MORE

BS Primer: What is liquidity and why does it matter?
Liquidity explains the extent to which an asset can be converted into cash without significant loss of value. You may perceive it as an ability to realise the maximum value of an asset by purchase or sale without impacting the price of the asset. From an investment point of view, liquidity relates to the ease with which an asset can be bought or sold to meet the urgent need of cash. Read more

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Nifty IT index settled 4.2 per cent higher led by gains in Tech Mahindra and Infosys. The Nifty Financial Services index too rose 2.3 per cent led by Indiabulls Housing Finance and HDFC

The benchmark indices erased their day's losses and settled over 1.5 per cent higher after the finance ministry said that the autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was "essential", in an attempt to dampen a spat between the government and the central bank.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 34,442, up 551 points (1.6 per cent), while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,387, up 188 points(1.9 per cent).

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT index settled 4.2 per cent higher led by gains in Tech Mahindra and Infosys. The Nifty Financial Services index, too, rose 2.3 per cent led by Indiabulls Housing Finance and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

The rupee, too, has partially recovered from its day's low and is back in the 73 per dollar-levels. The Indian currency has fell to 74.14 against US dollar in intra-day trade, down its previous close of 73.67 against the greenback.

Govt says RBI autonomy 'essential'

Finance ministry said on Wednesday the autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was "essential", in an attempt to dampen a spat between the government and the central bank.

"The autonomy of the central bank ... is an essential and accepted governance requirement," the ministry said in a statement. "Governments in India have nurtured and respected this."

The comments came after reports suggested that the RBI governor Urjit Patel was on the verge of resigning over the breakdown in relations with the government.

Global Markets

Asian stocks clawed up from 20-month lows on Wednesday amid pledges by China to support its markets, but investor confidence was brittle after equity markets bled trillions of dollars in a grim October.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1 percent, drawing support from gains on Wall Street overnight. Yet it was on track to fall around 11 percent this month, which would be its worst monthly performance since September 2011.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1 per cent on Wednesday and the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.2 per cent as weaker-than-expected factory activity data reinforced views that Beijing will roll out more support measures for the economy.

Australian stocks ended 0.4 per cent higher, South Korea's KOSPI added 0.7 per cent. In Japan, the Nikkei advanced 2.2 per cent, reassured by the Bank of Japan's signal that it will keep its ultra-easy policy for some time to come.